The Los Angeles Dodgers doubt Clayton Kershaw will pitch for the World Series champions in the MLB playoffs after the ace landed on the 10-day injured list.
Kershaw is back on the IL just days before the Dodgers begin their quest for back-to-back championships due to left forearm discomfort, the franchise announced on Saturday.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner had returned from a left forearm injury, which sidelined him for 57 games, however the star pitcher exited Friday's clash with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Kershaw – an eight-time All-Star and National League (NL) MVP who is in the final season of his three-year, $93million contract – lasted just 1.2 innings, giving up three runs with one strikeout against the Brewers.
As the Dodgers prepare for the offseason, manager Dave Roberts was asked if the 33-year-old future Hall of Famer will pitch again this year and he told reporters: "I don't think so.
"I think right now where we're at, we're going to proceed with that mindset. I'm certainly saddened, hoping we never had to get to this point.
"You know, you want to be certainly very thoughtful and sensitive to Clayton, but in the same breath, still kind of making sure we stay focused on moving forward. That's kind of where we're all at."
In 2021, Kershaw's ERA stands at 3.55 – his highest number since his rookie year (4.26) with the Dodgers in 2008.
Kershaw – a World Series champion – boasts a 10-8 record this season with 144 strikeouts in 121.2 innings pitched.
"My future's gonna take care of itself," Kershaw said after leaving Friday's contest. "I'm not really worried about that right now. I really wanted to be a part of the moment right now, and I wanted to be with this group going through October.
"That was my only focus this year. Once I got hurt, it was just to come back and make it up for this month. That's the hard part right now is knowing it's gonna be a challenge to even contribute at all this next month.
"But as far as anything else goes — I haven't wrapped my head around it, and I don't plan to any time soon. I'm just excited to watch these guys next month."
MLB:Braves' Sale shuts down Ohtani in MLB-best 17th victory
Chris Sale pitched six strong innings to become the first 17-game winner in the majors and Matt Olson drove in four runs to lead the Atlanta Braves to a 10-1 rout of the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday night.
Sale (17-3), who hasn't been charged with a loss since June 27, became the first player in Braves franchise history to allow no more than two earned runs in 17 straight starts, passing Hall of Famer Greg Maddux's previous record of 16 starts. He also surpassed Padres starter Dylan Cease for most strikeouts in the NL this season with 219.
Atlanta is now a season-high 14 games over .500 and pulled even with the Mets for the final NL wild-card spot. New York lost to the Phillies 6-4 on Saturday night.
Shohei Ohtani went 0 for 2 with a walk and has stalled in his quest to be the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season, going 0 for 6 in his last two games since hitting his major league-best 47th home run on Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs.
Atlanta scored six runs in the sixth inning, which featured Olson's bases-loaded double and RBIs from Whit Merrifield and Michael Harris II.
Harper’s blasts rally Phillies
Bryce Harper homered twice, Cal Stevenson hit a two-run, go-ahead double in the seventh and made a run-saving, highlight-reel catch in the eighth and the Philadelphia Phillies rallied to cool off the New York Mets with a 6-4 victory.
J.T. Realmuto added an RBI double for the Phillies, who have won 10 of 13 and lead the Mets by eight games in the division. The teams will wrap up the three-game series on Sunday afternoon before the Mets host the Phillies for four games from Sept. 19-22.
Starling Marte singled, tripled and drove in three runs and Luisangel Acuña had a pair of singles in his major-league debut for the Mets, who lost for just the third time in the last 15 games. New York dropped into a tie with Atlanta for the final wild card spot in the National League.
With the Phillies trailing 4-0, Harper launched the first of his two drives off starter Luis Severino with one out in the fourth, a 397-foot opposite-field drive off an 85-mph changeup. He pulled Philadelphia within 4-3 in the sixth with a two-run shot off an 87-mph slider that came on a 3-2 count. The two-time NL MVP, who hadn't homered since Aug. 9, has 28 home runs on the year.
Philadelphia went ahead in the seventh. Danny Young surrendered a pair of singles to Bryson Stott and Realmuto to start the frame, with both advancing on Brandon Marsh’s sacrifice bunt.
Reed Garrett relieved and struck out pinch-hitter Weston Wilson before Stevenson clubbed a 3-2, 92-mph cutter to the wall in right to score Stott and Realmuto.
Adames stars as Brewers outslug Diamondbacks
Willy Adames hit a grand slam as part of a two-homer night, Garrett Mitchell added a two-run homer and the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 15-8.
Milwaukee's magic number to win the NL Central is down to 3.
Arizona still has sole possession of the second NL wild-card spot, but is just one game ahead of the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets with 14 games to play.
The Brewers took a 1-0 lead in the first on William Contreras' sacrifice fly that scored Brice Turang, who reached on a leadoff walk. They kept their advantage when Sal Frelick robbed Corbin Carroll of a solo homer, leaping to reach over the fence and make the catch.
Milwaukee scored seven runs in the second inning, all with two outs.
Brandon Pfaadt retired the first two batters of the second before the next seven batters reached base. Turang and Jackson Chourio hit back-to-back RBI singles, Contreras walked to load the bases, Garrett Mitchell walked to force in a run and then Adames launched a sweeper into the left field seats for an 8-0 lead.
Adames had five RBIs, pushing his NL leading total to 107. Mitchell reached base five times, including three walks. Contreras hit a two-run homer in the ninth to make it 15-8.
Real Sociedad 0-2 Real Madrid: Vinicius, Mbappe penalties close gap on Barca
Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe both scored penalties as Real Madrid saw off Real Sociedad 2-0 at the Reale Arena.
Carlo Ancelotti's side moved to within a point of LaLiga leaders Barcelona, who visit fifth-place Girona on Sunday.
Already without the likes of Jude Bellingham, David Alaba, Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni, Madrid suffered another injury blow in the 24th minute when Brahim Diaz was forced off with a muscular issue.
After a goalless first half, the visitors broke through 13 minutes after the restart with Vinicius slotting home from 12 yards after Sergio Gomez handled Arda Guler's shot.
Vinicus was then felled for Madrid's second penalty, which was awarded following a VAR review, with Mbappe making no mistake in sealing all three points.
Data Debrief: Madrid extend unbeaten streak
Extending their unbeaten LaLiga streak to 37 matches, Madrid have now won four successive away league games against Basque opposition for the first time since a run of four such victories between 2011 and 2013.
By contrast, Sociedad have now suffered four straight home defeats in the Spanish top flight for the first time since 2007.
Bournemouth 0-1 Chelsea: Late Nkunku strike snatches victory for Blues
Christopher Nkunku proved Chelsea's hero as his late strike secured a narrow 1-0 win over Bournemouth in the Premier League.
The forward climbed off the bench to strike the winner five minutes from time at the Vitality Stadium, where Robert Sanchez kept out Evanilson's first-half penalty.
Bournemouth looked the more likely to take all three points in the contest, with Marcus Tavernier's long-range thunderbolt rattling the crossbar early on.
Sanchez then came to rescue on 38 minutes by denying Evanilson from 12 yards, albeit after he had conceded the spot-kick for a foul on the Brazilian.
The woodwork denied the Cherries again after the break, with Ryan Christie seeing his precise low effort hit the outside of Sanchez's right post.
However, it was Chelsea who snatched the points with five minutes remaining. Receiving the ball from Jadon Sancho, Nkunku cleverly skipped away from a couple of challenges before slotting past Mark Travers in the Bournemouth net.
Data Debrief: More happy travels for super sub Nkunku
Nkunku's piece of individual brilliance settled the contest. All four of his Premier League goals for Chelsea have come away from home as a substitute.
The Blues held out at the other end to claim their first away league clean sheet in 18 attempts, while winning four straight matches on the road for the first time since 2022.
Meanwhile, history was made at the Vitality Stadium with the referee showing a total of 14 yellow cards; the highest amount issued in a single Premier League game.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
